If I Knew
by t0ky0-chan
Summary: Conan had ten days to live. Ran knows his secret. How is the Kid involved with this? Sequel 'With You' explains all.
1. The Plan

**Disclaimer: *sigh* I really wish DC did belong to me, but if it did, I wouldn't have to be writing this disclaimer now would I? Okay, so DC and its characters don't belong to me, happy? *sniff* Oh yes, the poem 'If I knew' doesn't belong to me either. (Don't know who it does belong to though, it didn't have a name with it when it was sent to me in a chain letter.) Oh, by the way, Kid shows up in my story so I guess I have to say that Magic Kaito doesn't belong to me either, even if he's part of the DC's series.**

If I knew

_By: mysteriousangelgirl_

Chapter 1: The Plan

Time is slowing ticking past. Every second, every minute, every hour. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. You never know when your time will be up. That's why I can't stand being stuck like this. I need to tell Ran that I love her before I die. I know that will be happening soon, because I've had the feeling of being followed recently and I've seen a lot of suspicious people hanging around the agency, which means they'll strike soon. I'm also stuck between leaving this place so that Ran won't get hurt, but I can't stand the feeling of knowing that I'll never be able to see Ran again, ever....not even as Conan. His suspicions had been confirmed when he found a typed message in his backpack. It read: 

_Kudo Shinichi, you were clever, but not clever enough. Sherry, or Ai as you know her, has rejoined us. Not that she wanted to....but thanks to her you have been allowed 10 more days to live. Too bad she really loved you. She will become the cold, black hearted girl we created her to be again. Good-bye, Edogawa Conan and Kudo Shinichi._

I hate myself. Why did I have to follow those damn black people that damn night? Why didn't I stay with Ran and tell her how much I love her? Why didn't I know better?

_If I knew it would be the last time  
that I'd see you fall asleep,   
I would tuck you in more tightly  
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.  
  
If I knew it would be the last time  
that I see you walk out the door,   
I would give you a hug and kiss  
and call you back for one more.  
  
If I knew it would be the last time  
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,   
I would video tape each action and word,   
so I could play them back day after day.  
  
If I knew it would be the last time,   
I could spare an extra minute  
to stop and say "I love you,"  
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.  
  
If I knew it would be the last time  
I would be there to share your day,  
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,  
so I can let just this one slip away.  
  
For surely there's always tomorrow  
to make up for an oversight,   
and we always get a second chance  
to make everything just right.  
  
There will always be another day  
to say "I love you,"  
And certainly there's another chance  
to say our "Anything I can do?"  
  
But just in case I might be wrong,   
and today is all I get,   
I'd like to say how much I love you  
and I hope we never forget.  
  
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,   
young or old alike,   
and today may be the last chance  
you get to hold your loved one tight.  
  
So if you're waiting for tomorrow,   
why not do it today?  
For if tomorrow never comes,  
you'll surely regret the day,  
  
That you didn't take that extra time  
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss  
and you were too busy to grant someone,  
what turned out to be their one last wish.  
  
So hold your loved ones close today,  
and whisper in their ear,  
Tell them how much you love them  
and that you'll always hold them dear  
  
Take time to say "I'm sorry,"  
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."  
And if tomorrow never comes,   
you'll have no regrets about today._

Conan looked down at the floor as these words ran through his head. Why??? He dragged himself home and was surprised that when he opened the door, there was no gun pointed at his head, even with 10 days left to live. Miserably, the young boy made his way up to the room he shared with the so called "Sleeping Detective Kogoro". Conan wearily dropped his backpack into the pile of dirty clothes and empty beer cans. It was so messy in the room that even Conan couldn't find two pairs of matching socks.

Conan went back downstairs and was surprised to find Ran waiting for him. _She should be in school, _his logical brain told him, but he ignored it. She had been crying. "Ran-neesan, what happened?" 

"Conan-kun, I....I...." the teenage girl pitched forward and hugged his tiny form. Her tears began to flow again.

The young boy winced. _I hate it when she cries, it hurts my heart. _Innocently he asked again, "What happened, Ran-neesan?"

The girl drew back a little so their eyes locked. "I can't give you up, Shinichi. I can't!" She grabbed him and started sobbing.

Conan's eyes grew wide. "What-?"

"Don't say anything yet, Kudo," a voice said from the doorway.

Conan, senses now on alert, whipped his head to the owner of the voice. To his amazement, he found Kudo Shinichi standing there. _That's...that's impossible! I AM Kudo Shinichi. How could-?_ Conan studied the boy. After looking into the boy's eyes, he realized the boy only looked a lot like Kudo Shinichi, but was actually someone else. His messy and spiky hair gave that away. He also had on a smile that Kudo Shinichi would never use. It was mischievous and playful, but awfully scary at the same time. Kudo Shinichi only smiled in confidence, but this boy's smile was confident yet so scared at the same time. It was creepy.

"What are you doing here?" The young detective said as he finally realized who this boy was.

"Ahh, so that took Mr. Detective about 3 minutes to figure me out," the boy said as he checked his watch.

"Well, you try figuring something out _logically_ when your senses are on alert of being killed any moment." Conan glared.

The boy's grin suddenly faded. "They already sent a letter?"

Conan nodded, as Ran's questioning face looked from him to the other boy.

"Shinichi, what is going on and who's that boy? He looks just like you." Ran clutched her loved on close to her.

"Its okay, Ran. He's a friend, actually was a rival, but we're on the same side." Conan smiled sadly at his childhood friend. "He's not dangerous when he's like this."

"Like this??"

"Well, he's the Kaito Kid that the police are after, but he's got a normal life as Kuroba Kaito too." Conan cocked an eyebrow at the boy. 

"WHAT??"

"It's alright, Mouri-san. It's not easy to swallow in the beginning." Kaito walked up to the young teenage girl kneeling on the floor beside the small form of Conan. He held out his hand and a red rose magically appeared in his hand. "Lighten up, Mouri-san. I'm here to help you and Kudo."

Hesitantly, Ran took the rose. She looked at it, thinking back at the times when Shinichi had given her a rose in their elementary years. Then she snapped out of it to find Conan and Kaito deep in thought. 

"What's going to happen?" Ran asked. "Why do both of you seem so worried?"

Conan sighed. "I'll tell you everything. I still don't know how you found out I was Shinichi, but that doesn't matter now. I'll tell you everything, but we have to go somewhere safe first."

Kaito grinned. "This would be nice to hear. Even I haven't heard the whole story."

Conan just looked at him. "So, any suggestions, Kuroba?"

"My house, it's not too far away from here, but it's also real safe."

Noticing Conan's worried look, he said, "Trust me, if something does happen, I promise I'll get you guys out of there first."

Conan shook his head. "It's not that, I'm just tired and I guess real upset since I just remembered all that stuff happening to me again."

Kaito decided not to reply. _The guys got it even harder than me. I've got get him to lighten up, but it's not the right time now. Maybe later. Serious stuff comes first._ Kaito smiled and pointed his thumb behind him. "Let's get going now, ne?"

Conan nodded and Ran stood up, following behind Conan as the two left the room. Kaito looked after them for a second before following behind the two and closing the agency door behind them. 

Kaito led the trio to the car he had parked behind the agency. He beckoned for them to get in. Ran got in first, but Conan stood outside for moment and said, "I didn't know you could drive already, Kuroba," as he raised an eyebrow.

Kaito grinned. "Well, I'm only 19 like Hattori-kun, but since he gets a motorcycle, then why can't I get a car? Besides, I don't _look_ 19."

Conan looked scared. "Oh, well, let's hope we don't die before we reach your house." The young boy hopped into the car. Just before he closed the door, Kaito was certain that heard the boy say, "At least it'll probably be better than Satou's driving," under his breath. Kaito chuckled as he got into the driver's seat and started the car. He backed the car out of the dark alley he had hidden it in and started down the room at a very slow pace. When the car had warmed up, Kaito floored the accelerator and the car shoot forward, throwing all three back into their seats. He heard Conan curse under his breath and saw Ran look disapprovingly in the boy's direction.

Kaito grinned and wagged a finger at Conan through the rearview mirror. "It's very inappropriate for a child to use such words, Conan-kun."

Conan glared and he stuck his tongue out. "Well, would you like me to tell Nakamori-kun that you drive around like a maniac _illegally_?"

Kaito laughed. "Let's see you try." He suddenly stopped the car, throwing both Ran and Conan forward into the bucket seats in front of them. Conan was holding his face as Ran landed a karate chop right beside his ear.

"Do that ever again, and you'll be dead meat," she warned, rubbing her bruised face with her free hand. Kaito was surprised then smiled.

"Don't worry, Mouri-san. I won't. But I've got to say. You look real scary and dangerous when you're mad." Kaito got out of the car and went over to the back to open the door for Conan and Ran.

As Conan got out of the car, he glared at Kaito again and said, "Don't forget that I DO have a pair of special shoes and anything thing kickable would hurt a lot." He smiled evilly as Kaito sweat dropped. _I had forgotten about that....along with the fact that Mouri-san is a good karate champion....._

As Kaito led Conan and Ran up to his room, he heard Conan say, "Wow, your house actually looks normal, Kuroba."

Kaito snorted and continued to his room upstairs. When he opened the door, Ran gasped. 

"What?"

Ran pointed to his desk. On the desk was a white cap, the one Kid wore.

"Oh, you shouldn't be so surprised, Mouri-san. You'll be seeing a lot of this kind of stuff lately." He ushered his guests in and then locked his door. "Okay, so I know, Mouri-san, that you're very eager to know the truth, but there is more urgent stuff to do at the moment." Kaito stood with his back leaning against the locked door and waited.

As he had guessed, Conan exploded. "What are you talking about? I finally get a chance to tell Ran everything and then you suggested that we come here. Now you bring us and tell us to do something else? Ahh, Kaito what is wrong you???" 

Ran put a hand on Conan's shoulder. "It's okay, Shinichi."

"Listen, Kudo. You are in danger. I can't let you go running around, ready to die and any moment." Kaito crossed his arms. "That wouldn't be fair."

"Oh, and since when did the Kid start caring about fairness and saving lives?"

"Ever since I met YOU!" Kaito suddenly yelled.

Conan was taken back. "What?"

"Kudo," Kaito said, lowering his voice, "You only have ten days, no WE only have ten days. We-"

"What do you mean by 'we', Kaito?" Conan was pale.

Ran was worried. _What are they talking about 'only ten days'? I don't understand..._ Ran looked from the child's face to the other boy's face. Neither was smiling.

"I mean that I have also received the 'death' letter." Kaito's voice was almost a whisper.

"You WHAT?"

"Kudo, just calm down. I asked you to come here because, first of all, they sent it to me as_ Kid_, not as Kuroba, and second of all, don't you want to take them down? To do that, we have to find a way to defeat them together. It'll never work if we go our separate ways."

"Kaito, listen, but what if they are watching us right now? I mean, they would know everything!" Conan was almost in tears.

"Kudo, if they _were_ following you, they would never have sent the letter and would never had let Mouri-san live. They would have seen right through it." 

"But...but..."

"Kudo, look. We might not be able to defeat them, but at least we tried. We would die knowing we tried to accomplish our goal in life, isn't that all we can ask for? We're already tangled in so deep, we can't back away now."

Conan sighed. "Okay fine. You figure out a way to do that. My logical brain has fallen asleep or is currently in shock mode, so it won't help us." He sat down on the floor and rested his head in his hands.

Kaito smiled. "Alright, but I'll need your help."

Conan looked up at the teenage boy. "Only my help?"

"Actually, I'll need Hattori-kun's help, Haibara's, Aoko's, Mouri-san's, along with your's."

"I'm ready to help for anything, especially for Shinichi," Ran piped up, after being silent for the past few minutes.

"Okay, so first of all, I know that........" Kaito began explaining his plan. He seemed to have planned it out even before asking for Shinichi's help. Conan could also tell that Kaito planned to go through with his foul-proof plan no matter what happens.

It took hours for the plan to be explained and for a few to be prepared. The others had been contacted and already understood the situation. They were all on their way over. The plan would be put into action in about another 24 hours, when the Black Organization would meet at their last meeting in a company called Koiko's Furniture and Co.

Conan was ready. He was absolutely ready, except one thing, Ran.

_So hold your loved ones close today,  
and whisper in their ear,  
Tell them how much you love them  
and that you'll always hold them dear_

The line of the poem "If I knew" ran through his head again. He looked up at the skies. _If I don't make this through alive, God, take care of Ran for me. Tonight may be my last night to tell her how much I love her._ Conan looked at the sleeping girl next to him from Kaito's sleeping bag. They were sleeping on the floor of Kaito's bedroom as he had asked them to stay for the night. He had been quite hesitant, but Kaito insisted and told them he had already left a note for Kogoro. The trio reluctantly agreed as they still had much to do in the morning. 

Morning came by quickly. It was time for the plan to be put into action.

~to be continued~

_Okay, so how was that?? I'm still a beginner at writing fanfiction, so I do need your support. Please review my story and tell me what you think!!!! I'll see you in the next chapter. Read my other fics too!!! I need reviews!!!!!! Next chapter may take a while, please be patient, but again, for the last time; I will say....PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!_

_~mysteriousangelgirl~_


	2. Danger

**Disclaimer: So I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito. All characters are rightful property of their respective owners.**

If I Knew

_By: mysteriousangelgirl_

Chapter 2: Danger

"Kudo....." I called softly.

The young boy buried in the sleeping bag flipped over onto his stomach. "Just one more minute, Ran....." he mumbled.

I chuckled softly. _He thinks I'm Mouri-san....how cute though, especially with that small body he's in now and when he's sleeping._ "Oi! Kudo, it's ten o' clock!" I called again, but louder.

"Alright, alright, jeezs....." the young boy said as he said up, yawned and reached for his glassed on the nightstand against next to him. He stretched, yawning again and stood up. He grabbed his blue jacket from the back of my chair, where it had been hanging along with his red voice-changing bow tie.

I stood in my room, folding up the sleeping bags that Kudo and Mouri-san had slept in last night. Just as I was stuffing them into my closet, Mouri-san came back into the room with a towel around her neck and looking much more refreshed after a good-night's sleep and a hot shower. 

"Good morning, Kaito-kun," she said cheerfully, smiling slightly, as she grabbed a comb from her backpack and left again to brush out her long chocolate brown hair.

I smiled. It was about 10:30 in the morning and I wasn't surprised that Mouri-san was an early riser. I had heard that she was always hurrying Kudo-kun. I yawned. I had gotten up at 6 to finish making a few updates to my plan. _I'm so tired, but even Kudo looked like he had only an hour of sleep..._._But you can't blame Kudo for being sleepy. We did go to sleep at one last night, explaining the plan and all that. _I looked at my watch, 10:35. _Not too bad, but we had better get down for breakfast. _Just as I was about to head out of the room, Kudo, in his small form, looking much better and less cranky, came back in. 

He pulled me aside and said, in a very low voice, "Oi, did you tell Ran about our death letters?"

I shook my head. "No. Why?" _Although she may have figured it out yesterday when we mentioned it.....Didn't seem like it as she was so cheerfully....but then again...._

He sighed of relief. "That's good."

"Why?" I asked again. I squatted down so that I could look straight into his face.

"Because...now that she's a part of this....still don't understand how....I'll worry about that later, I know that, knowing Ran, she isn't going to back out, even by force. I just don't want her to be worried for me so she can concentrate about herself. I just....don't want to have her get hurt," Kudo sighed again. He had turned away from me when he was talking and now he turned back to face me. He smiled, "You must think I'm very babyish, ne?"

I smiled, truly this time. "No, it's fine. I know you care for her, but don't worry. I'm not telling. I'm not getting Aoko worked up about this either. It's already a risk bringing her into it, but I know there's no way I can come up with an excuse this time." This time it was a grin. "She's still a bit mad about me being the Kid, but she says she'll wait to yell at me or swing a mop at me." 

I thought I saw Kudo sweat drop, but I couldn't be sure because just then, Mouri-san walked in with Aoko.

"Aoko! What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean 'what am I doing here'? You called me over. It's already 10:40, you dummy!!!" Aoko said, slapping me over the head.

Before I could answer, Mouri-san said, "I was brushing my hair when I heard the doorbell. I thought you would have gotten it, Kaito-kun, but when you did, I went instead." She giggled. "Then I found myself face to face with my twin!"

"Yeah yeah I forgot," I said, rubbing my bruised head. _How come I didn't hear the doorbell? Neither did Kudo....oh right. We were talking about Mouri-san then._ "Okay so let's have breakfast first or did you already? Still, I'm hungry and I don't work on an empty stomach!" I grinned my trademark grin and bounced out of the room happily with Kudo following slowly behind, both eyebrows raised. Then he just shook his head and mumbled something I heard as 'weirdo'. I could tell Aoko was glaring at me, but Mouri-san was calming her down. It's weird how girls get along so quickly, even if they looked so much alike. It's just the same with me and Kudo, but let's not go there now. 

I gobbled up my breakfast within a minute, as did the kid, Kudo. Just as Mouri-san was yelling at Kudo to don't eat so fast, and Aoko holding the broom out to hit me, the doorbell rang again. We all glanced toward the door, wondering if it was the enemy or a friend. Just as Aoko was saying softly not to open it, a voice quite familiar to Kudo boomed, "OI!! IS THERE ANYONE IN THERE?" followed by a loud slap. 

Within seconds, Kudo was at the door and had opened it, revealing the owner of the loud voice. There stood Hattori Heiji, looking quite tired with a gigantic red handprint on his left cheek. To his left was Toyama Kazuha, her hand still held up from slapping the detective next to her. She was glaring at Heiji with the expression 'don't be rude', scaring Kudo into backing up a few steps. Then she smiled at Kudo and all of us behind him.

"Hi everyone!" she said cheerfully.

"Come in," I said, holding the door open for the two teenagers and then locking it firmly behind them.

Heiji mumbled something that only I caught. He said, "First you call me at one in the morning, disturbing my sleep, now you don't answer the door when I get here, and then I get slapped by Kazuha for calling to see if there's anyone inside...." he rambled on but I ignored him, grinning a bit at the cranky Osaka detective. _At least he's not as serious looking as Kudo...._I looked at the small boy, who looked like he was watching someone die....that painful expression of bringing Mouri-san into _any_ danger.

"Yo, Kudo, get them settled in while I get something," I said, nodding my head at the young boy who just blinked at me, but did as told.

As the teens and young child got settled in the living room, I headed upstairs for my weapon of defense. When I arrived back downstairs, I found Mouri-san, Toyama-san and Aoko deep in conversation on the left sofa, obviously about us, the boys, by looking at the blush in their cheeks. Kudo and Hattori, seated on the right sofa directly across from the girls with a coffee table between the two sofas, were talking about something quite serious by the grave look on the young boy's face and the thoughtful look on Hattori's.

"Hey guys, sorry for the delay. So, what's up?" I plopped down next Kudo and ruffled his hair, something he hated and still did when I saw him glare at me from behind those oversized glasses, but didn't say anything.

I looked at Kudo carefully. He looked like he was thinking about something but in reality he was in pain, physical pain. It was very difficult to tell, but he had been hurt recently. There was slight bruise, so faded that you couldn't see it unless you were looking for it, on his left cheek. Judging from his small movements with his left arm, it seemed that something had happened to it. _How come I hadn't noticed it earlier? Kudo's hardly showing any pain at all, but now that I see this, it's noticeable. _

"Kudo, what happened?"

Conan looked up at me, "You noticed, huh?" He rubbed his left shoulder while saying. "Nothing much, just a slight fall and landed flat on my face."

Hattori poked him in the ribs. "Yeah right. If you _had_ fallen, the bruise wouldn't have been on your left cheek, would have been on your nose! Come on, you told me you'd tell me after Kaito got here and now he's here. What happened?"

Hattori said all that I would have said so I remained silent as Kudo sighed. He looked over at the girls, smiling slightly knowing that they were talking about something else. I think it was underwear, but that doesn't concern me ^^

"I did fall, that true, but it was because....." Conan sighed again. "Let me start from the beginning. Okay, I got the letter yesterday, you know that, ne, Kaito?" Receiving a slight nod from me, he continued, "I was running over to Hagase's to talk about this and ask about Haibara because I didn't think she would ever rejoin them. When I got there, Haibara wasn't there, but Gin and Vodka was. Hagase was no where in sight. They told me that to get Hagase back, I had to find Sherry. In the letter it said that Haibara had rejoined them so I was very confused. Then Gin grabbed me by the collar and growled in my face that that letter was sent by someone else. It was sent by a different organization member as they thought when told that Kudo Shinichi was found, that they had found Haibara, so they sent the 'death notice' to the victim." Conan put his arms behind his head and leaned against the sofa. "All I remember afterwards was that Gin threw me to the floor, damn he has a strong arm....and then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was lying on the floor, bruised shoulder and bruised cheek. There still isn't any sign of Hagase, and I have no idea where to start looking for him."

"What about Ai?" Hattori asked.

"What about her?"

"Aren't you going to find her?"

Kudo shook his head. "She'll long gone from here. I bet you she left when she saw the letter. Where she went, I have no idea, but all I care about is finding Hagase and bringing those men down. That's why I was so worried. I didn't know who to ask for help, but thankfully, I have you guys." Kudo smiled.

I grinned. "Okay, I get it now. Then let's get down to business, okay?" Kaito waved a hand at the girls who looked at him. "We're going to go over the plan, now listen up. So first of all......................"

~7:59pm, Koiko's Furniture and Co, secret room between fifth floor and sixth~

Beep Beep.

"Yeah?" a voice whispered on the cell phone.

"All clear?"

"Yeah."

"Get ready."

"Alright."

"Follow the plan, meet at the room."

"Ok."

The connection was cut as abruptly as it had been put through.

The figure tiptoed along the shadows, when it got to the closet, it pulled out key from his pocket, silently stuck it into the keyhole, opened the door and disappeared inside. Inside, the figure, took another key out, stuffed the previous back into his pocket and opened a trapdoor behind the brooms and mops. As he closed the door behind him, he sighed. Then he stuffed the key into the same pocket, stuck his hands in his pocket and waited a bit for his eyes to adjust to the dark. Then he began walking forward in the narrow staircase. As he neared the top and the door to the secret room, he felt someone inside with him. Just as he turned, a hard object dug pressed against his back and a gruff voice said, "Don't move."

The figure slowly raised his arms, and froze in his position. "But...."

"Shut up. Now turn around so I can shook your face."

_What?_ The figure turned around slowly and gasped as he saw the face of his enemy. "You......"

~to be continued~

_I'm sorry it took so long....I've been busy lately. I don't have much to say and not much time either, so I'll just say PLEASE REVIEW!!!! And I hope you liked it so far. I'll see you in the next chapter!!_

_~mysteriousangelgirl~_


	3. Capture

**Disclaimer: Alright, so Detective Conan and Magic Kaito doesn't belong to me, although it would be awesome if they did! ^^ Too bad I'm not Gosho Aoyama... *sigh* Darn....`~`**

**~**Alrighty....ok, my last chapter was sort of rushed because of my hw load and tests....but please review!!!!! Also, the last chapter was in Kaito's POV, if you haven't noticed, but anyway, I just felt like changing it for that chapter, so the rest of the story as is the first chapter, will be in third person form, kk? Ok, thanks, REVIEW!!! (Also, yes Conan has returned to being Shinichi, don't ask why or how because I'll explain in the story later, kk? ^^)

If I Knew

_By: mysteriousangelgirl_

Chapter 3: Capture

"You...."

The figure smiled. "Yes me." The figure fired, and the man dropped to the ground, lifeless. The figure frowned. "What a waste, he was such useful information. Too bad he's dead now." The figure opened the door and hurried inside. From the light, you could tell it was an brown-haired woman.

Ring Ring.

The figure yanked the cell phone out of his pocket and hissed a low, "What?"

"Where's your spot?"

"Door."

"Gotcha, be right there."

"Ok."

The connection was cut off as another figure tapped the figure on the shoulder. He turned and got up from his crouched position, stretching his aching legs.

"Now what?"

"Follow the plan, let's go."

The figures nodded at each other and then followed each other silently up the stairs leading to the secret meeting room. As the neared the door, they heard a lot of talking. Both leaned slightly against the door to listen when to burst in. 

"You think it's going to work out?" one figure asked.

"You don't trust me?" the other answered, taking something out of his pocket.

"No, I do. I'm just...worried, okay?" Even in the dark, you could see the determined look in his eyes. 

"Fine, I expected that, but you know what we are risking, right?" Kaito tossed a gun to Shinichi, who caught it and with a swift jerk of his hand, stuffed it into his left inner jacket pocket.

Kaito looked in amusement. "Now where did ya learn that trick?"

Shinichi grinned. "From you."

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Is that meant to be a good thing or bad thing?" 

Shinichi shrugged and then pointed to the door, almost invisible in the darkness except for the small rays of light coming out of the cracks between the door frame and door. "You sure they can't hear us?"

"If they could, they would have gotten us by now."

"Okay, ready?"

"Hang on," Kaito looked at his watch, not digital, and smiled. "Perfect timing."

"Ehh??"

"Remember I said that at exactly 9, the meeting would be fully in session?"

"Yeah..."

"That would be perfect time for the plan."

"Your kidding, everyone's there and the police and FBI aren't here yet."

"No, it's the best time to catch them off guard. As for police and FBI, they're all outside now. The FBI should be coming in soon, I told them about this place AND I had thirty of so of them disguise themselves and slip into the gang in there," Kaito jerked a finger to the door.

"No wonder....I knew you'd be prepared. Well, isn't time to go in?"

"Yup, be careful, Kudo."

"I know."

"Okay, let's go." Both boys waited for the voice of one of the disguised men to say, "Okay, I have a little surprise for all of you...."

Kaito and Shinichi yanked open the door and fired their gun at whatever they could hit. As Kaito continued to fire, hitting a few of the black men, Shinichi stood in awe at what he saw.

They were at least 100 men seated in the room. There was a long rectangular table at the end of the room, with 5 men sitting there. They were obviously the leaders of the entire organization. All the other men had whipped their heads around when Kaito and Shinichi burst in. What surprised Shinichi wasn't the people, their expressions, the weapons all over the room, or the computer with all the organization's information. It was who was sitting at the leaders' table. It wasn't Haibara or Jodie or Shuichi as he had expected, but it was Chris Vineyard, no, Sharon Vineyard, that famous actress from America that had died in an accident. He _knew_ she would be there, but seeing her there was different than knowing it. 

"What are you staring at, Kudo-kun?" she said as she stood up, snatching a gun from a nearby table and holding it out so that it was level with Shinichi's head.

"You, you, AHHH, DAMN YOU!! YOU WERE MY MOTHER'S FRIEND!!!" Shinichi fired his gun twice, neither bullets hit Vineyard, but instead hit some guys by wall.

Chris smiled. "What are you talking about?"

Kaito had stopped firing, as he had run out of bullets, but he had hit at least seven people. He dropped the empty gun. Now he looked at Shinichi. "What?"

Chris seemed to ignoring everyone else, but her expression told them not to interfere. She unlocked the safety on her gun, shifted and asked again, "What are you talking about, tantei san? Answer me or your friend here will die."

"Alright I'll explain! You were Sharon Vineyard, a famous actress in America. Then, somehow you got involved with the organization, got your hands on APTX4869, so you faked a death. Then you reappeared as Chris Vineyard, the supposed _daughter_ of Sharon, even if you are the same people. When I was in America, I hadn't suspected anything until after what your organization did to me and that Sharon Vineyard did just before Chris made an appearance. That would be why you have a fake birth certificate and that no one's seen you grow up except your supposed mother, which would be yourself." Shinichi crossed his arms. "Am I correct?"

Chris laughed. "You _are_ pretty smart, tantei san. Too bad, now that you have come here, instead of letting me find you and killing you, I'll just get rid of you here. But not before I get your friend first!!" She fired before the disguised FBI could react or even Kaito as the bullet flew at Kaito. Shinichi had been ready though. He rammed his elbow into Kaito, shoving him aside at the last moment. However, the bullet flew straight through his stomach, causing him to fall on his knees, grasping at his bleeding stomach and panting.

"I see you want to die first," Chris said, firing again, but this time directed at Shinichi. This time it went through the left shoulder. Shinichi fell to floor, unconscious. Kaito kneeled down next to him, yelling "Kudo Kudo!" 

Chris grinned. "Now it's your turn, boy...." Just as she fired, Kaito whipped out his card gun and fired at Chris's hand, and managed to dodge the bullet at right moment. The card struck Chris's hand, whipping the gun out from her hand and leaving a thin line of red on her hand. As all members was staring at the only person able to rip a gun out of their top leader, Chris was glaring at Kaito, holding her bleeding hand. 

"Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter now, Chris, you are under arrest," one of disguised FBI said, finally realizing it was time for them to stop this whole thing. All FBI in the room were wrestling the members, and most of them were knocked out due to the reason of being attacked when off guard. Gin and Vodka dodged the few FBI agents compared the hundreds of organization members, and hurried over to Kaito kneeling over Shinichi.

"Kudo, Kudo, wake up!" Just as he was flipping his fellow friend over, Gin kicked Kaito in the stomach, throwing him backwards. Kaito clutched his stomach, standing up slowly. He could taste blood in his mouth.

Gin yanked the unconscious Shinichi by his injured arm and put him in a head lock, pointing a gun at his head. "Don't any of you move, of this detective's going to be history!"

Kaito gritted his teeth. _Now what? Kudo's unconscious and been taken hostage. There's no way these FBI are going to win...there's just too many of the black men....What do I do? What do I do???_

Just as Kaito was worried about what to do, the single door that led to the secret headquarters of the organization burst open. There was a flash of color and then the thee members closest to the door fell with bloody noses to the floor. The blurs of colors continued to knocked members down and out of the their way, when Kaito finally realized that backup had arrived and the girls were knocking out everyone with their martial arts. Heiji then entered the room, with a sword in hand, he clobbered other guys as the FBI and almost all the police from Japan came rushing in, snapping handcuffs on those unconscious and occasionally knocking others out. They hauled many of them out and in minutes, only half of the organization remained.

Kaito watched man after man were knocked out, handcuffed and carried out of the room. The black organization was going down. He still held onto his stomach, glancing at Gin still holding the injured and unconscious Shinichi in a headlock. He also saw that the organization were losing, had no where to escape, so he just held onto Shinichi. As one of the girls, looked like Ran, but then again Ran and Aoko looked alike. Kaito waited for the right moment, when Ran had knocked out Vodka with a roundhouse kick, directing Gin's attention away from him for a split second, Kaito whipped out the stun wrist watch that Shinichi had given to him and shot it at Gin. Gin paused for a moment, allowing Kaito to whip out his own darts and shoot a few at the assassin. Kaito watched as the man swayed a bit, loosening his grip on the gun, then finally fell to the floor. He had not noticed it, but he had been holding his breath. Now he exhaling in relief and looked down at his hurt friend. 

Surprisingly, Shinichi's eyes were open and he was grinning. "Didn't think you would think of using my gadget...." He coughed, spitting out blood.

Kaito grinned back but then said, "Oi, don't talk, you're just hurting yourself more. Let's get you to a hospital." Kaito made sure to take Shinichi right arm, not the left and then helped him to his feet. He slung Shinichi's right arm over his shoulder and looped his arm under Shinichi's left arm. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just kind of tired and dizzy...."

"Just make it out of here first, ok?" Kaito paused as a man fell from one of the girls' deadly attack and landed on the floor in front of them. 

Shinichi's eyebrows raised and tilted his head to look at Kaito. "You sure it's safe to move now?" He nodded toward Chris Vineyard, or Vermouth, who was fighting with Ran. Ran had managed to land a hard kick on her cheek, so there was an ugly purple bruise starting to form. Vermouth looked very angry and was kicking at Ran, who dodged all the kicks effortlessly.

"It's fine, no one stands a chance against the girls, most of them are knocked out or in process of being," Kaito nodded to Kazuha, who had somehow managed to throw three guys over her shoulder all at once, "so the real problem is Vermouth, who you shouldn't be worried about." Kaito turned to look at his friend was stunned that his friend had lost consciousness again. 

"Damn, he's losing too much blood!" Kaito half dragged, half led Shinichi to the door, where two people in white with a stretcher were waiting. He laid his friend down slowly and then yelled at the men to get him to hospital ASAP. The two men rushed off, and Kaito turned to watch as the amount of black organization members in the room decrease from about 200 to 125 to 100 to 50 to 20 to 10 down to three. The only three remaining were Vermouth, a boy with blue clothing instead of black, and an old man with a cane.

The old man was watching Kazuha's movements and when she tried to grab his arm with her hands, he stuck out hand and caught her left arm before she could grab him. Just as he was twisting her arm, Heiji showed up behind him and conked him on the head with the back of his sword and kicked the guy's stomach, knocking the man half way across the room.

"Are you okay, Kazuha?" Heiji asked, putting his sword back into his case.

"Yeah, thanks." Kazuha blushed, rubbing her arm.

"No problem. How's your arm, let me see." Heiji took Kazuha's arm and looked at it for a moment. Then he glared at the old man being hauled out of the room with disgust. "I should have kicked him even harder."

Kazuha took her arm back, blushing even more and said, "It's okay, I'm okay."

"Let's go help the others, okay?"

Heiji and Kazuha walked over to Aoko who was just glaring at the boy wearing blue. Suddenly she ran forward, and attempted to punch him in the stomach. The boy dodged easily, but Aoko smirked and kicked his shins. The boy yelped in pain, but managed to keep from falling. Aoko was just going to land another blow on his cheek when he reached down, grabbed her arm and swung her over his shoulder. Aoko managed to land her feet, but was now about 20 feet away from the boy and her ankles were hurting. The boy was walking toward her now, and just as he was going to touch her, his fell face-first in front of her. 

"Ehh?"

"Don't forget Aoko, that I have sleeping gas when I go on heists," Kaito said, holding an orange egg in his hand.

"Orange egg?"

"What, you don't like my taste?" Kaito grinned and moved aside as a few officers snapped handcuffs on him, and dragged him out the door. 

Aoko stuck her tongue out and said, "Remind me to get a mop when I get home."

"Oh, I will. I've got to get fit again. Losing my touch."

"Oh yeah, this time I'm going to get you!"

"Oh yeah, go ahead and try!" 

Magician and girl stuck their tongues at each other and then burst out laughing.

Kaito finally stopped and became serious again. "Let's go help Mouri-san defeat Vermouth."

Aoko nodded and two moved cautiously behind the dangerous leader of the Black Organization. Kaito armed himself with a metal bar that was lying on the ground, and Aoko picked up a wooden stick by the door. Kazuha grabbed a broken leg of a swivel chair and Heiji held his sword out. Ran stood like a tiger ready to pounce with her fist raised.

"Make your move, Vermouth," she hissed.

Vermouth grinned. "She moved with lightning speed and threw a punch at Ran's cheek. Ran leaned backwards, dodging the hit, and then using her left leg, swept out and hit Vermouth's ankles, knocking the American woman off her feet. As Vermouth stumbled, trying to catch her balance, Kazuha hit her stomach hard with the swivel chair leg and Aoko slammed her stick down on the actress's shoulder. Kaito threw his metal rod at Vermouth, hitting her right shin, and Heiji used the back of his sword to hit Vermouth's right shin. The actress fell, bloody and unconscious to the floor as everyone sighed and smiling. A swarm of police officers and FBI came rushing over, handcuffed the women about 20 times, and hauled her away too. 

Everyone sighed as they dropped their weapons, except Heiji who just put the sword back into its cover, and relaxed their muscles. An officer came over to them, asking them to come to the Osaka Department tomorrow, if they could. All said they'd be there and then the teenagers filed out of the room, and back into the hallways of Koiko's Furniture and Co. 

Just as they were leaving the building, an officer stopped them and told them that a dead man had been found in the secret passage. It was just a young man, but he had many connections and he had been giving the organization information. Heiji nodded and then asked for the hospital in which Kudo was at. The officer's expression became very grave but told them that he was at the Hospital of Beika. 

When asked of his expression change, the officer lowered his voice and said, "I heard the detective was in critical condition. A bullet just scared his heart so no one knows if he's going to live. I hope he does. He's smart and we'll need a guy like him. Tell him that." He nodded and then excused himself to finish his duties.

Ran was in tears all the way to the hospital. While the teens waited for their detective friend to come out of the surgery room, Ran keep thinking.

_If I knew it would be the last time  
that I'd see you fall asleep,   
I would tuck you in more tightly  
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.  
  
If I knew it would be the last time  
that I see you walk out the door,   
I would give you a hug and kiss  
and call you back for one more.  
  
If I knew it would be the last time  
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,   
I would video tape each action and word,   
so I could play them back day after day.  
  
If I knew it would be the last time,   
I could spare an extra minute  
to stop and say "I love you,"  
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do._

_Why did I come earlier so Shinichi wouldn't have to get hurt? Why?? It's all my fault. Shinichi risked everything to bring those man down and to keep innocent people like us from getting hurt. Why couldn't I have arrive earlier and did my part?_

"Stop blaming yourself, Mouri-san."

"Ehh?" Ran looked up at Kaito who at spoken. He looked very angry.

"It wasn't your fault no matter how you think of it. Kudo took the bullet for me. I deserve the blame. If he doesn't survive this, I.................I don't know what I'll do."

"But...how did you know that I was thinking that?" Ran sniffled.

"Everyone would be thinking that, and that's just who you are Mouri-san. But we know that Kudo is strong. He'll pull through, right?" Kaito managed a slight smile. Little did they know that their hope would soon decrease even more.

Ran nodded and turned with everyone as the doctor came out of the surgery room.

Questions like 'how is he?' 'is he living?' bombarded the doctor all at once as Kudo Shinichi's worried friends crowded around the doctor.

"Whoa....slow down. As of right now, Kudo Shinichi is alive, but in critical condition and unconscious. It looks like, and I don't mean to say this, but it's true, that it looks like he won't make it. There's always a chance he'll pull through, but it's.....slight."

Ran started sobbing again and everyone took a step back, as reality finally hit them, hard. Not just their friend, but like a brother, someone you could talk to and would understand without laughing or judging. 

_If I knew it would be the last time  
I would be there to share your day,  
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,  
so I can let just this one slip away.  
  
For surely there's always tomorrow  
to make up for an oversight,   
and we always get a second chance  
to make everything just right.  
  
There will always be another day  
to say "I love you,"  
And certainly there's another chance  
to say our "Anything I can do?"_

Ran continued to cry as she thought about all the happy times that she and Shinichi had together. She hated herself for not taking the chance and telling Shinichi her true feelings. 

_But just in case I might be wrong,   
and today is all I get,   
I'd like to say how much I love you  
and I hope we never forget.  
  
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,   
young or old alike,   
and today may be the last chance  
you get to hold your loved one tight.  
  
So if you're waiting for tomorrow,   
why not do it today?  
For if tomorrow never comes,  
you'll surely regret the day,_

_I do regret it....Why didn't I grab Shinichi's arm and not let him go? _Ran shook her head. _I'm so stupid....._

_That you didn't take that extra time  
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss  
and you were too busy to grant someone,  
what turned out to be their one last wish___

"Shinichi," Ran whispered. "Can I go see Shinichi?" she asked, louder.

The nurse nodded, and pointed to a room down the hall. Ran got up slowly. She knew that everyone had stayed behind so that she could talk to Shinichi, even if he couldn't hear her.

As Ran opened the door, she saw a pale, lifeless Shinichi lying on the hospital bed. Tears streamed down her face as she closed the door, and walked up beside his bed. She knelt down and took his hand. 

"Shinichi, I love you." Ran's voice was shaking, but she swallowed and continued, just in case Shinichi could hear her. "I'm sorry that I never told you. I know you think I'm upset at you for not telling me the truth, but I don't care. I just want you to come back to me, Shinichi. Everyone does. Please, for my sake, for everyone's sake, please don't die....." Ran buried her head in the white blankets of Shinichi's bed and cried. 

_So hold your loved ones close today,  
and whisper in their ear,  
Tell them how much you love them  
and that you'll always hold them dear  
  
Take time to say "I'm sorry,"  
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."  
And if tomorrow never comes,   
you'll have no regrets about today._

_I love you Shinichi......._Ran fell asleep on the bed and when she did wake up, it was because someone was moving in the room. Ran sat up and listening. It was pitch black, probably because Ran was so tired and had slept until 3 in the morning, when the sun wasn't up yet. 

_Is it Shinichi? Or is it just someone like a nurse moving around?_

"Ran......" a voice said.

~to be continued~

_I hope you liked the story so far and sorry this chapter took so long. I had a gigantic project that I'm still not done with, but finished a big chunk. It may be a while for the next update but I want reviews!!!! If you don't review I think that no one read my story so PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! Thanks. Also, I know that my fighting part is sort of corny, but I'm not real good at writing that kind of stuff. I still hoped that you liked and I'll see ya all in the next chapter!!_

_~mysteriousangelgirl~_


	4. Come back to Me

**Disclaimer: Alright, I'm not Gosho Aoyama sensei, so I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito. The characters and anything else from those series don't belong to me and copyrights of their respective owners.**

If I Knew

_By: mysteriousangelgirl_

Chapter 4: Come Back to Me

"Ran......" a voice called out.

"Shinichi?" Ran leaned toward the boy on the bed next to her chair and was disappointed and heartbroken to find that he wasn't the one calling her name.

"Ran......where are you? I can't see you in the dark," the voice said.

"I.....who are you?"

Ran almost screamed as a hand came down on her shoulder.

"Shhh!" the person said, as they kneeled down next to Ran. "It's just me, Ran."

"Aoko! What are you doing here? I thought everyone went home after I came in here."

"Well, we did. I snuck out because I was worried about you, and well, Kudo-kun too....." Aoko tilted her head to look at the dark figure on the hospital bed. His pale face was only barely visible with the streak of moonlight coming from the window. "I heard that his condition hasn't improved much."

"Oh....." Ran sniffled. Then the tears just broke loose and began tumbling down her face. "It's all my fault," she said softly between sobs. "If I hadn't let Shinichi go that day at the amusement park, then he never would have become Conan, never got tangled up in that dangerous mess, and didn't have to be like this...."

Aoko put her arms around her friend and tried to comfort her. "Ran, and you should be talking. Think about what Kudo-kun did to you. He left you on an empty promise and only a few phone calls, runs off on you some many times, and then doesn't do anything when you cry for him."

"Aoko." Ran's voice was hoarse from crying, but her tone was serious. "He had a reason, a good one. If he had told me, if he had done that, he would have put me in danger and I know that, from Shinichi's personality, he wouldn't do that.....for anyone, not just me."

"Ran....." Aoko pulled her in close for a hug. "Let's just wait until morning, okay? You're just tiring yourself and when Kudo-kun wakes up, you would have the energy to even hug him!" she whispered in her friend's ear.

"If you mean...._if_ he wakes up....." Ran was soon fast asleep on Aoko's shoulder. Aoko smiled lightly then gently carried her friend to the sofa in the hospital room. As she pulled her jacket over Ran, she glanced over at the still lifeless Shinichi.

"Please wake up and come back to Ran, Kudo-kun......if you don't come back to her, she won't be only one suffering......." Aoko bent down and whispered in Ran's ear. "I can't stay but I'll be back in the morning." Even if Ran didn't hear, Aoko slipped from the room noiselessly and was back in her room as if she never left in a few minutes. She lay in bed for a while before whispering a prayer. _Please let Kudo-kun come back to Ran......_

the following morning

Ran woke up and stretched. She yawned as she got up from the couch in which Aoko must have moved her too. As she walked over to Shinichi's bed, she was still very saddened and disappointed to find that he hadn't woken up. Ran kissed him gently on the cheek and then, holding Aoko's jacket, left the room to get a quick breakfast. On her way to the nearby store, she met up with her father, who was just going to the hospital to go look for her.

As daughter and father walked back toward the hospital, they talked a bit about how fast things were happening and what the future would look like.

"Well, Ran, I heard about your detective friend.....and I called up your mother.......and....." Kogoro said, quite seriously.

"You....you called Mom???" Ran looked at her father questioningly.

"Yes I did. Even though I still don't quite get along with her, I asked to talk to her face to face and we did. She, let's sit down for a bit," Kogoro and Ran had arrived at Beika Central Park.

As the two sat down under a big maple tree, Kogoro continued, "We talked stuff over like that we had both been mad at each other, but then we talked about you, about your future and finally decided that you need both of us. We've been separated for so long just because of one little disagreement and you don't deserve that. You mother and I are doing are best to keep from fighting and we're sorry we gave such a bad experience when you younger. You mother's moving back in about a week or so, just to let you know."

"Really? I knew you'd work things out with Mom!!" Ran hugged her father.

Kogoro looked surprised for minute, before a smile spread over his face. As Ran let go of her father, Kogoro put a hand on her shoulder and said, "I know about that detective and how serious his condition is, so I'll wait until he gets better to yell at him. Now let's go home for a while, okay?"

"But Dad, I have to watch Shinichi, he-"

Kogoro sighed awfully loud. "I guess your mother was right when she said you wouldn't leave that idiot until he woke up. Fine, go back to him, but when he's well enough, you've got to come home and get some rest, okay?"

Ran nodded, as she stood up with her father. "Well, I'll be seeing you and Mom later...and I'll call if something happens or if Shinichi wakes up, okay?"

Kogoro nodded and then he turned and walked in the direction of home as Ran returned to the hospital. She reentered Shinichi's room and glanced at the boy on the bed again. He was still very pale and unconscious. _Come back to me Shinichi, please._ Ran forced herself to not cry. Just as Ran dropped her bags on the sofa next to Aoko's jacket, a doctor knocked and came into the room.

"You're Mouri Ran, right?"

Ran nodded.

"You want to know the, I mean excuse me, your friend's condition?"

Ran nodded again.

"Okay, so he's doing a bit better. One bullet when through his left shoulder, and even as it was quite close to the heart, it didn't harm anything. The bullet that went through his stomach did scrape a few organs, which is why he's not in real good condition yet, but he's going to live, which compared to the other patients here, is a great miracle." The doctor smiled. "Tell your friend when he wakes up, that he's one strong guy." The doctor winked and turned to walk out of the room, but turned back to see Ran crying.

"What...wha..what's wrong?" He came over and put a hand on her shoulder.

"No...nothing...I'm just....so happy that Shinichi's going to live.....did your really say that he'll wake up, did you?" Ran rubbed her eyes, trying to stop the tears that she had been holding back.

The doctor patted Ran on the back. "Yes, your friend is going to live."

Ran smiled as another round of tears came running down her face. "Thank you, thank you......I've got to call my friends!!" Ran wiped her tears and was just about to leave when someone groaned.

_Shinichi?_

"Shinichi??"

"Yeah....it's me....." the boy said as he sat up in his bed, holding his stomach and groaning at the pain. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Shinichi!!!!" Ran ran back to her friend and threw arms around him, causing him to whine in pain, but she didn't care. He, her childhood friend and the only one she would ever truly love, was alive.

Shinichi gently embraced Ran as the doctor smiled, before leaving quietly to not disturb the happy reunion of the two lovers.

"Ran!" Shinichi said after Ran left go of him, "You look so tired and pale....you know you shouldn't be waiting for me here...." Shinichi frowned at her.

"But if I wasn't here, I wouldn't be able to see you wake up!" Ran smiled, holding back the urge to hug Shinichi again.

Shinichi smiled. "And now I suppose you're going to hop out of that chair, rush to the pay phone down the hall and get the gang here, right?" He grinned.

Ran smiled as she stood up. "Just what I was going to do. Now you had better not go anywhere!!" Ran ran from the room, a true smile on her face after all these years.

Shinichi smiled. _You think I can actually get anywhere like this? Besides, I will never, ever leave your side ever again, Ran. Never, I swear that to you._ Shinichi leaned against the back of the bed and tilted his head to the left when the door opened. He was just going to ask how Ran could make so many phone calls so fast when he saw who his visitor was.

"Haibara......what are you doing here?" Ai carried a bouquet of flowers, which she put in the vase on the nightstand next to the hospital bed in which he lay.

"What, am I not allowed to come visit you?"

"No....it's just that I'm surprised that you'd come.....I mean....after that blowout I had last time.....I didn't think you'd ever want to speak to me again.....and well....." Shinichi didn't know how to apologize.

Ai stood next to him, her arms crossed. She had remained as Haibara Ai. She never wanted to be Miyano Shiho again, so she left her past and her sister behind and finally began a clean life as Haibara Ai.

"You know why I didn't take the antidote?" she suddenly asked.

"Yes, well actually no.....I could guess, but I don't know for a fact." Shinichi answered, looking at the young girl in front of him.

"Well, since Mouri-san isn't here at the moment, I think it'll be easy for me to explain." Ai took a deep breath. "I loved you, Kudo Shinichi."

It was so abrupt that Shinichi was paralyzed. "You......you.....what??"

"It's alright. Although your reaction was a bit different from what I had anticipated, that's okay."

"What?"

"Ever since I met you, I fell in love. You gave me everything I had missed out on when I was really a kid. You, along with those cute kids, gave me friendship, fun, laughter, and the courage to move on in life. You were just so innocent with those kids. You made me feel like life was actually something besides the drug. You never blamed me for the drug and how it ruined your life, destroying the life that took you so long to build. Yet never once did you shout and lose control, well at least not aimed toward me. I know you did inside you, but you tried so hard to not let it show to me and to you basically was everything to me. Without you, if you had been taken away, I think I would have shrunk back into that cold, icy girl I was when I first met you. I didn't want to see you hurt, and I _could_ tell you really wanted to meet up with Mouri-san again. I worked hard on that antidote and with the few scraps of information you and I had collected, along with a great stroke of luck, I found the antidote.

When you came in that day, I knew you were upset because Mouri-san must have been crying for you again, because that's the most upsetting thing to you, ore should I put it, the _only_ thing that upsets you, and when you blew up at me, well that was expected. You've been stuck in a child's body, watching your best friend crying for you, even as you're standing right next to her, for over a year now. I was also the one who put you in that situation and watching you get upset and blaming yourself really made me feel bad...."

"Ai....you know you don't have to tell me this...." the teenager said softly, not daring to look at the brown-haired girl.

"I know, but I want to, no I _need _to. So listen to me. I didn't take the antidote because, I know you Kudo Shinichi, you loved Mouri Ran and nothing will ever change her place in your heart, no matter how hard I try, I'll only be a friend to you...."

"A _good_ friend," Shinichi put in.

"Thank you. But as I was saying, I also didn't want to return to what you tried to help me put behind me, and being Haibara Ai is, well better. I know you don't care, but I just want to let you know that.......I just want you to be happy, okay?" Ai sighed. _Whew....that took a long time. Well, at least I got it all out. _Just as Ai was going to say 'then that's it for now, goodbye', she heard a gasp behind her. Ai turned and saw what she dreaded. It was Ran, she was staring, with her mouth hanging open, as if she had seen a ghost.

Ai said a soft good-bye and then rushed to get out of the hospital room. Just as she opened the door, Ran looked up at her and smiled. "Thank you, Ai. Thank you so much....."

Ai froze. She had never felt so _welcome_ in her life. Someone was _thanking_ her! Ai smiled, truly this time and tilted her backwards to glance back at the smiling detective and his girlfriend. "Well, congrats, Edogawa, and I'll see you sometime soon!" Wit that, Ai walked out, shut the door behind and left the hospital with a smile that no one had seen in the last 5 years.

Back in the hospital room, Ran walked over to her beloved friend and gave him a light peck on the cheek. He immediately reddened by their contact but smiled and hugged her.

"So, what did you talk about with Ai?" Ran asked, speaking in his hospital gown.

"Not much, just a few....things....." Shinichi said into Ran's hair.

Ran snorted. "Yeah right, but then again that's your business and I don't want to ruin are moment together......"

Shinichi smiled. "Alright, so when's-" he was cut off of saying 'when's everyone going to get here?' as the door slammed open and crowd of people came rushing in all yelling, "he's awake!" "he lives!" "thanks god!" and all sorts of things. Shinichi unfinished question was immediately answered.

"Hey, everybody! Whoa, Hattori! Don't stick those in my face. Oww! Someone don't touch my shoulder.....Hey watch my head!!" Shinichi was bombarded by his good friends and everyone was very happy that Shinichi was alive, as was Shinichi that he had such great friends.

As Shinichi talked with everyone, he thought back to the one person he had to thank for all this. _Ai, thank you for giving me life again. Without your hard work, I'd never be here now. Maybe you don't know it, but I needed you along the way, just as much as I needed everyone else....so thank you._

THE END

Completed: May 13, 2004

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_Well, that was a bit different from what I expected and after reading Ysabet's Windfall just a few minutes ago, I feel that my story really isn't that interesting. It's quite bad actually so I guess have to thank you all for even clicking on the title button and trying my story. Special thanks to those who reviewed, I appreciate your thoughts and I hope that maybe my next story will be much better. Thanks again!_

_mysteriousangelgirl_


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